Legendary tech investor Dan Niles cautions investors to consider raising their cash ratings in this week’s episode of The Master Investor Podcast, just six weeks after he correctly called for a more aggressive risk-on approach at the end of March. While he still thinks today is more like 1997/98 than 2000 and that the shift from chat-based AI to Agentic AI will sustain major earnings upgrades for the rest of this year, he warns that tech stocks are overbought, Iran War risks persist, and the challenges that will hit the AI trade either way by year end. SEMIS: “So in the short term, are semis at the most overbought they've been since 2000 or 1995 before they had horrific corrections? Absolutely.” IRAN WAR: “If this is going to take a lot longer for this situation at the Strait of Hormuz to get sorted out, then you're going to see stock prices collapse to catch up with where bond yields and oil prices are. I don't think that's the case. But, I'm viewing things as you should be sitting with a lot of cash.” MEGA CAP WINNER: “It's obviously Google. They have the full stack and they're the ones you should bet on. And unless something drastically changes, they will continue to be the winner going forward because they've got everything and they've got the massive cashflow to fund it.” He also discusses what the shift to Agentic AI means for $NVDA (not ideal), Intel $INTC (great) and $AMD (good); why concerns over $META are NOT overdone; why $AAPL fortunes should improve; why $AMZN and $MSFT are struggling a bit short term, and why $GOOGL shines bright. Recorded 11th May 2026 00:00 Intro 02:39 Why today feels like 1997/98, NOT 1999/2000 05:25 Agentic AI suggests more upside to bull market 07:52 But Iran War could derail things 11:18 Agentic AI means CPU’s over GPU’s 13:35 Semis are overbought 17:51 Is shift to CPUs bad for Nvidia? 19:13 Google the standout performer 21:15 Apple leadership transition 23:45 Meta concerns not overdone 25:37 Google best placed 27:36 30-50% AI crash by early 2027 30:01 Concerns about OpenAI 34:27 Upcoming IPOs, oil, bonds signal problems 36:16 Hold more cash 37:48 Kevin Warsh a positive, but watch bonds 43:34 Quantum computing 45:44 Conclusion:1998 or 1999? For more content like this, subscribe to The Master Investor Podcast Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@TheMasterInvestorPodcast And follow @WilfredFrost on X - https://x.com/wilfredfrost?lang=en And Linked In - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wilfred-frost-279667374/ Sponsored by BNY Investments, World Gold Council, London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and Interactive Brokers - ibkr.com/masterinvestor. The Master Investor Podcast is produced by Paradine Productions and Master Investor Ltd in association with Bird Lime Media. This podcast is for information purposes only. It does not constitute an invitation or inducement to engage in any investment activity. It is not a financial promotion as defined under section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). The views expressed by the presenter of this podcast are those of the presenter and are provided in the course of journalism. This podcast benefits from the exemption under Article 20 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (FPO), It does not require approval by a person authorised under the FSMA. Generic information, not identifying any specific investment, fund, provider or service, about a class of investments such as shares, bonds, derivatives and cryptoassets, might be provided and/or discussed during this podcast. Such discussion falls within the generic promotions exemption (Article 17 of the FPO). Such discussion is not a financial promotion requiring approval by an authorised person under section 21 of the FSMA. Investing involves risk. You should consult a suitably qualified adviser who can assess your individual circumstances before making any investment decision